Importance of Sensory Play #BlogchatterA2Z

It is very important for kids to be familiar with different senses. For this the easiest way to initiate Sensory Play . Sensory Play is any activity which stimulates child’s senses – touch, smell, sight, hearing, and taste.  Kids explore these scientific processes while they play.

You can start Sensory Play with your child as early as four months of age. To initiate Sensory Play, you don’t have to buy any materials. You can create sensory play at home easily with the materials available around you.

You can use any plastic bin or a large container for sensory activities.

Add materials like, rice, pulses, shredded paper, pompoms, confetti, pasta, ribbon, kinetic sand and water. To make it look more appealing to the child, you can dye your rice or pasta with food colours. It will be colourful and bright. It is also called as rainbow rice and rainbow pasta. In one bin you can add different materials. For example for small babies, add things which he can grip easily, like soft ball, toys, teether, ribbon , blocks. For kids who are above twelve months, you can add plastic animals – water , wild and domestic, numbers or alphabets from the puzzle and make it into a learning activity.

Importance of Sensory Activities :

Cognitive Growth :

Sensory Play stimulates cognitive growth in kids. When kids touch various objects, they use their senses to play which is very important for their cognitive growth because it stimulates their brain to feel and understand what the object is, its texture, size and shape. This is useful when they go to school because it helps them in logical thinking.

Fine Motor Skills:

Fine Motor skills are the skills which involve sqeezing an object, holding it in the hand and playing with it. Sensory play stimulates a child’s fine motor skills which are very important when he goes to school and he uses these skills to draw or paint.

Gross Motor Skills:

Jumping on different surfaces, like a trampoline, floor, bed  and sand stimulates the child’s different senses and is very important for the development of gross motor skills.

Improves Memory :

Studies have proved that sensory play develops and improves a child’s memory.

Social Skills:

You can have group sensory play too. For this you need a slightly bigger bin to carry out the sensory activities. Call your kids friends and let them play together. The child will learn to communicate in a group, it will improve his vocabulary and also build team spirit.

Calms the child:

A child who is very exhausted or anxious or frustrated can be calmed by doing sensory activities. It will stimulate his senses. He will play , discover and create various things. It will give him alone and quiet time which is very important to calm his brain.

Independent Play :

Sensory play is one of the very good forms of independent play. The child learns to play on his own . This also makes him confident that he doesn’t need someone with him all the time to play.

Gives you some respite :

Sensory play keeps babies and toddlers busy for good 30-45 minutes. It gives you some respite of finishing your chores, have a cup of tea or coffee or just read a book.

Have you ever tried Sensory Play with your child? Do share in comments.